Safety device for railways



Dec. 11 1923.

I M. K. HEALY SAFETY DEVI CE FOR RAILWAYS 2 Sheets -Sheet 1 Filed July 20. 1922 WITNESSES 8 M ATTORNEYS Dec. 11,1923. 1,477,486

. M. K. HEALY SAFETY DEVICE FOR vRAILWAYS Filed July 20. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hi i L51 a) i 1Q WITNESSES l/VVE/VTOR Ilzc7uz ZJLJ-la'l 7. K if a I ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. H, 1923.

warren stares MICHAEL K. HEALY, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR RAILWAYS.

Application filed July 20,

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that 1, MICHAEL K. HEALY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Railways, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to automatically operated safety devices for railways.

The general object of this invention is the provision of a simple and efficient automatic safety appliance for use with railways, adapted to prevent trains from running into one another.

This object is accomplished by providing a pair of sectional staggered conductors, and mounting on the rolling stock devices which co-operate with the conductors and are adapted to energize the same when the train is stopped or travelling at a rate below a certain speed, and adapted to be operated to apply the train brakes when it is associated with conductors already energized.

This and other objects of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the device mounted on the cab of an engine;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22, Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the connection of the device and how two trains would be associated when contacting with a common conductor.

Referringto the above-mentioned drawings, an engine 10 is shown. Two sectional conductors 11 and 12 parallel a railway track 13. The sections of these conductors may be of different lengths and are insulated from one' another as shown at points 14 in Figure 3. Referring to Figure 1, a shoe 16 is provided with a stem 19 which contacts with the conductors 11 and 12 and is slidably mounted in insulating plates 20 carried by a frame 17. An insulating plate 21 is rigidly attached to the stem 19 and slides in the frame 17 Positioned between the lower plate 20 and the plate 21 is a spring 18 which serves to retain the shoe 16 in engagement with the conductors 11 and 12. The frame 17 is carried by the engine 10.

A valve 26 is connected into the train air line 23. This valve assemblage consists 1922. Serial No. 576,283.

of a casing 22 in which the valve 25 is mounted and normally retained in position in the valve seat 27 by means of a spring 28. A valve stem 29 extends upward through the casing and is connected to the armature of an electromagnet 24. When the electromagnet is energized the armature is operated, drawing the valve stem 29 upward. opening the valve and allowing air to escape from the air line. When the air escapes from the air line the pressure is removed from the brakes which are then applied, stopping the engine.

Mounted on the engine is a switch 30 consisting of a cylindrical casing 31 in which a piston 32 is slidably mounted. Three contact plates 33, 34 and 35 are mounted in the upper end of the cylindrical casing 31. The contact plate 35 is of a length equal to the stroke of the piston 32 so that the piston the piston 37 in the lower end of the cylin-' drical casing 31. A frame 46 is carried by the engine 10. Mounted in this frame is a fan 42. Attached to a gear 43 is pulley 47 which is connected to the fan pulley 48 by means of a belt 45. The gear 43 meshes with the gear 41 attached to the wheel 44 of the engine 10. Therefore, the fan 42 is driven from the engine wheel 44. An air line 49 extends from the fan 42 to the opening 38 in the cylindrical casing 31. Located in the air line is a valve 50 for restricting the passage of air through the air line 49.

A battery 15 is located in the cab of the engine and the positive terminal of the battery is connectedby means of a conductor 51 to the, contact plate'34. The other terminal of the battery is connected by a conductor 52 to the frame of the engine 10. The plate 35 is connected through a lamp 53 to the stem 19 of the shoe 16 by means of conductors 54 and 55. Extending between the plate 33 and the eleotromagnet 24 is a conductor 56. The other terminal of the electromagnet is connected to the conductor 52 which is grounded by connecting it to the frame of the engine.

The operation of the device is as follows:

When the train is not iii-motion the piston 3201? the switch connectsthe plate to the plate 34. This connects/the battery 15 through the conductor 51, plate 8 1, piston 32, plate 35, conductor 54:, lamp 58, con ductor 55' and shoe 16 to theconductors 11 an'd l2. Thus the conductors-Hand 12 are energized when the train is stationary. When the train is in motion the fan 42 is operated, forcing an air current along the air line 49 into the cylindrical casing 31.

.This tends to force the pistons 37 and 32 upward but until the train reaches a certain predetermined speed the air current is not strong enough to force thepiston 32 to the upper end of its stroke where it contacts with the plates 33 and 35. Until the -piston 32 is out of en agement withthe plate at the battery 15'- continues to energize the conductors 11 and 12.

When the train istraveling at asutlicient speed to operate the fan 42 at arate which generates an air current in the air line 19 strong enough to'for'ce the piston 32 into engagement with t-heplate 33, a new circuit is set up. This circuit consists of conduc tors 11 and 12, shoe 16, conductor 55, lamp 53, conductor 5 1, plate 35, piston 82, plate 33, conductor 56, electromagnet 24 and the frame of the engine which is considered a ground. If the shoe passes onto conductors 'which are energized, current flows through this circuit, operating the valve 26 which releases in the pipe line 23, causing the train brakes to be applied.

Y From the above it will be seen that iftwo trains equipped with devices similar to those described above aret-raveling on-the railway and] onefot them is compelled through a gizes the electromagnet 24E, which applies the brakes, stopping the train and thus preventing any accident.

I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated example constitutes a practical embodiment of myinvention I do not limit myself'strictly to -the exact details herein illustrated since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Claims: 1

1. In a safety device for railways including sectionalconductors, means carried by each train for charging the conductors, means carried by the train contacting with the conductors,,means for connecting the chargingmeans to; the contacting means, and means'operated by the trains for directing a current of air against said connecting means to retain it in an inoperative posi-, tion while the train travels at a rate above a predetermined speed. 1 r v I 2.- In a safety device for railways includingsectional conductors, a device carriedby each train comprisingmeans for charging conductors, means carried by the train contacting with the conductors, means 'lorconnecting thechargi-ng means tothe contacting means, and a tan driven by the'train for retaining the connecting means in an inoperative position while the train travels at a rate above a certain speed. I I

- 3. In a safety device for railways including sectional staggered conductors paralleling the railway, adevice acarried by each train comprising a source of electrical energy, an electromagnet for operating the train brakes, contact means for contacting with thesaid conductors, a switch, a tan driven by the train for operating the switch to connect the contact means to the electromagnet to energize the same it the conduc tors are charged and the train'is travelling above a certain rate of speed, and means -for operating the switch to connect the source and a fan driven by the train for operating the switch, disconnecting the source of electrical energy from the contact means and connecting the electromagnet to the contact means when the train is travelling'above a certain speed. I I s v 'MICHAEL' K. HEALY. 

